Invite the criticism... and then "lean into it"!

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

You know those times when someone just has something to say?

A couple of days ago I found myself in a "professional discussion" where someone felt it was very important to offer me a perspective regarding what I was doing - He didn't understand or see the utility of LinkedIn (or beBee), didn't see any reason for all of my blogging, questioned my range of topics and ability to have much to say, and finally questioned how I could "monetize" my efforts. In the end, he said he was "sorry to offer all this contrary perspective"; all with a slight air of conviction that he was right and I was wrong I might add.

To that I said, "I really appreciate the discussion; it's important". And I truly meant it! 

"I'm arrogant enough to think I know everything and smart enough to know I don't" is a self-reflective reminder I came up with a long time ago to ensure I, "shut up, listen and consider that maybe I'll learn something". It has served me well over the years but if truth be told, I sometimes forget. I didn't forget a couple of nights ago though; instead I listened, considered, thoughtfully engaged, and appreciated every word.  

"I agree with myself 99 out of 100 times" is another self-reflection that reminds me it's important to get feedback, council, advice, criticism and even the "odd hater"(for good measure). It's a recognition I am not always right, and I need to get other perspectives, thoughts and insights that differ from my own. I Invite the criticism and the differing opinion; I want to hear something I have not heard before to help support better decision making.

"Lean into the criticism" is the most recent self-reflective reminder that I've adopted and probably should have adopted a while back but hey, I'm still a work in progress. As I look at it, "Lean into the criticism" is an important reminder in the following ways:

  1. Criticism, although by definition is considered negative, needs to be stripped of any emotion. It needs to be looked at intellectually and not considered irrelevant just because you "don't like it" - Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's wrong.
  2. Meet criticism head on - Don't evade criticism, don't shy away from it and don't diminish its value. Criticism will let you pressure test your thinking, validate your conviction, and will ensure a better chance of success. If what you are doing can't stand up to a little criticism, how can you expend it to succeed in the "BIG, BAD WORLD"
  3. It allows you to validate the critic's credibility for next time - In the end, you are inviting the critics, not the haters.

Any and all critics welcome... and the odd hater for good measure.

iamgpe.

 

 

Those heady times and the pursuit of WOW...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

During the heady times of the 80s and 90s* it seemed you just couldn't get enough of Tom Peters and his endless parade of books on leadership - In Search of Excellence, A Passion for Excellence, Thriving on Chaos, Circle of Innovation and finally my favourite, The Pursuit of WOW! (He has authored more but these are the ones I bought and have read to various degrees)

I would be hard pressed to give you specifics from the many pages after all this time but I will never forget the inherent meaning of WOW - Be it expressing astonishment or admiration or a sensational success or when you impress and excite someone greatly - It's a word that covers a lot of ground and works well with bold colours. WOW became the definitive emotional and qualitative measure for me; if you heard someone utter the word WOW, you were onto something**... the bigger the WOW, the bigger the success. 

It even worked it's way into the theme of one of our meetings where I amused the audience with "WOW stories", gifted everyone the book, and presented a teal shirt with the word WOW! emboldened on the front; we could not help but stand out as a united front of teal at that evening's baseball game and even made it onto the "Videotron".***

Why after all of these years was I reminded of The Pursuit of WOW!?

Honestly I could not tell you; maybe I was just day dreaming about those heady times of the past... although more likely somewhere in the "messed up filing system that is my brain", a small alarm went off signalling that I was not hearing WOW enough (either out of my mouth, or someone else's). 

Why did my brain do this? It is because hearing the word WOW tells you that you're "stretching yourself", reminds you to set the bar higher, motivates you to experience something new, indicates sensational success, and lets you know you are impressing and exciting someone greatly. Also, I suspect my brain wants to look back at 2016 as heady times. 

And if you decide to pursuit WOW, please don't turn it into one of those words like "awesome", "genius" or "brilliant" that are now grossly misused and trite - The Hubble telescope is "genius", not using two thermal sleeves on a very hot Starbuck's latte macchiato.****

iamgpe

* Were the 80s and 90s really that heady historically speaking? Probably not, but for me it was a time of great learning, experience building, and a great amount of fun & adventure.

** WOW does not replace hard data but it is an amazing lead indicator.

*** The Videotron is the large video screen at the stadium of the Toronto Blue Jays. At the time was called the SkyDome but is now the Rogers Centre. Don't ask me what team they were playing... it was a long time ago and there was beer.

**** I borrowed this line from Louis C.K who is in fact a comic genius.


 

The moment that defines us...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I greet death differently now.

I suppose it was my sister's doing; that witching hour phone call, the lonely trip to the hospital and a quiet goodbye to who she used to be. I collected up her things and then in the silence of a new dawn walked back to the car... a forlorn scene as I balanced a vase and bamboo stalk along with her other possessions; the metaphor for the last seven months of her life. She was cremated five days later and her final resting place is an urn in the shape of a birth bath because she didn't want to be buried in the cold ground - She wanted to stay among the living. 

As a matter of course, the following days and weeks involved the contemplation of death; not a macabre examination of death itself but more a pursuit to understand life. There was the predictable reflection that life needs to be lived, all the while embracing trite words like "zest, gusto, bucket and list". In the end though, there was just the resignation to the inevitability of death and that our lives were then defined - Nothing more "can be written" that defines who we are, and what we have done.

I looked at the caller ID on my phone and was deeply saddened as I knew what would greet me when I answered; my long time friend Paul Sipprell had died after his long battle with cancer. His life's defining moment had come. 

Paul was a loving husband and father of two beautiful daughters, an accomplished graphic illustrator and artist who befriended everyone he met with humour, kindness and generosity. Avidly pursuing his outdoor passions until his mind could not convince his body anymore, Paul personified the grand appetite for life, adventure, friendship, bravery and the appreciation for a life lived - A life well defined by any measure.

I will miss my friend deeply and cannot help but consider what my defining moment will ultimately look like.

Rest in Peace Paul.

iamgpe